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7. Useful in proving who was
7. Useful in proving who was driving, which cuts down on that particular well-exploited loophole
+1 for the Shimano – although
+1 for the Shimano – although I managed to get almost what I paid for mine as I got it on a good deal from Sigma at the time (or ProBikeKit)
Yeah, sorry, that was me – 20
Yeah, sorry, that was me – 20 years ago!
Often used to go for a Sunday afternoon blat from east Southampton along various country roads and end up on Portsdown Hill. Bean can zorst, loud tunez, all that stuff…
How times change…
As others have said, depends
As others have said, depends on time of day. If you’re coming from the east there’s also nowhere to bail out to on that side of the road until you get to the first fort. Popular with scenic drivers, and a rat run if anything goes wrong on the major roads nearby. Great views.
I’m not sure they’re accessible from where you’re coming from but the other alternative (and a really decent short dig) are Farlington Avenue & Gillman Road. Latter is gated and narrow so shouldn’t be any through traffic.
I absolutely love letting
I absolutely love letting drivers filter in from slip roads, flashing them out of side roads etc. The Volvo doesn’t go anywhere fast, and if you try to make it do it you’re basically the KLF on Jura.
Also, because by modern standards the brakes are like the mini-v’s fitted to BSOs, I drive everywhere with a huge stopping distance, certainly more than the 2 second rule.
Oddly, because it’s an (almost classic) Volvo people don’t seem to mind. I think they still seem them as being made of blocks of granite and thus likely to make their plastic noddy car just fall apart by looking at it.
I’ve sold three four five and
I’ve sold
threefourfive and bought two.What’s always worked for me as a seller:
- Plenty of good photos. Make sure you state in the description that these are of the bike for sale and that they form part of the description.
- Keep a record of the serial number of the frame and any expensive parts
- Offer cash on collection. Never offer Paypal/collection (although I think eBay have improved that process recently) – reason being that you can’t prove delivery/collection and open yourself up to Paypal chargebacks
- Use cycling language in the description – more likely to attract someone who knows what they’re looking for, and more likely to attract a cyclist (and, as we know, all cyclists are awesome)
- Try to sell to someone who has asked you questions, rather than just bidding on the item, cuts down on NPBs/chancers/timewasters
- State your terms for collection – how soon you want it collected, COVID-secure stuff
- Offer local delivery at cost (e.g. 10p per mile) if you’ve got something you can transport the bike with. I’ve done that a lot as a buyer and seller of all sorts of stuff. Usually a 30-mile radius
- Prepare a bill of sale – sold as seen and as described, with a description of the item. I got the buyer to address, sign and date a copy of the listing for one bike I sold which went for over £1k
- Use your spidey-sense, if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. If doing delivery/meeting someone in a dingy car park, make sure there’s someone with you
- Count the cash – and hand it to someone else
- If doing collection from home don’t let them see your other bikes. Likewise, make sure they arrive alone and there isn’t someone casing the joint. Probably won’t happen with a Tricross but my next door neighbours got their bikes nicked after selling a 50-quid clunker.
- Likewise don’t do the “I’m only selling this because I’ve got a Trek Madone Project One arriving” bragging
- Don’t offer “Arrange your own courier” – that way lies hassle and leaves you open for claims of damage.
Ultimately, you’ll get a feel for whether they’re legit, and most people are. I’ve ended up having a cuppa and malt loaf with most people I’ve sold bikes to.
As Dapple says, definitely wait for a £1 listing weekend if you can. Will save you ££ on the likely sale price of a Tricross.
Sit and spin on the roads,
Sit and spin on the roads, tend to stand and climb offroad
If it’s a very short hard effort I’ll stand when road riding but that’s more to do with not shifting than anything else.
I know you shouldn’t shift under power but I do it and I’m a big heavy rider. It’s all in the timing, just very briefly soft pedalling whilst it shifts, and only dumping one gear at a time.
Agreed, they don’t care.
Agreed, they don’t care. Worse than FIFA, and that takes some doing. Too many vested interests.
It’s probably time we all moved on as fans from celebrating pro cyclists being hard as nails too – you know, applauding riders finishing covered in road rash and worse, riding an entire grand tour with a broken pelvis or collarbone that sort of thing. MotoGP is the same – there was so much pressure for Marc Marquez to come back quickly from his injury and as a result he needed further surgery to save his arm.
Another example on the BBC today – Elinor Barker and Kirstie James talking about appalling attitudes to endometriosis, and the toxic culture in cycling in general – https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/56276626
As soon as your kids are able
As soon as your kids are able to pedal, get one of these – https://roland-werk.com/addbike/, then they can do their shift as a stoker. Brilliant things, I used ours when my son was age 7-10 and he was powerful enough to push both of us along at a decent speed on the flat. The rack it’s sold with is very sturdy and will take a child seat too.
There’s also the FollowMe tandem (I think reviewed here) as an option – great for taking the kids further from home as they can unhitch and ride independently, and then hitch up when they inevitably get tired.
Yeah, it can be tight – when
Yeah, it can be tight – when I ran 5800 my pads were bottomed out. You can get extenders but they’ll take some bite and modulation away, to the point you’re better off with long drop calipersI have the 650s on my best
I have the 650s on my best bike, they’re very good. Might not be necessary though, there’s plenty of clearance for 28mm tyres (and guards) with 5800/6800 and newer brakes.Spa Cycles Ti Touring? On
Spa Cycles Ti Touring? On offer at £750 at the moment (frame, no forks)
Or their Wayfarer at £400 – future proof as it has canti bosses and disc mounts
I noticed them when I was
I noticed them when I was looking at the log cabin build option. Look very sturdy.
Naturally I’ll be using Quickstep flooring and Soudal glue ?I commuted for several years
I commuted for several years in down to zero temperatures in a pair of reasonably lightweight Altura neoprene gloves with silk liner gloves from Decathlon. I have poor circulation and this did the job for me. Certainly dexterous enough for road levers, including Di2 and SRAM. These are the current equivalent.
https://www.altura.co.uk/products/detail/AL18THN/thermostretch-3-neoprene-glove/?ng=
They were durable, lasting 4 winters before I got a slight split in the base of one of the fingers. Wash well, would definitely have them again if I was still commuting.
Decathlon used to do a cycling-specific liner glove but I think these are the nearest equivalent now
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/black-silk-trek-500-mountain-trekking-liner-gloves
Great feedback thanks – that
Great feedback thanks – that pretty much rules out using inserts for me as I always have clearance issues with frames.
So direct glazed, and probably Optilabs as I can try the frames
